Isla Cerralvo (), as is commonly named, whose official name is Isla Jacques Cousteau (; ), is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

located off the Cerralvo Canal coast near

La Paz, Baja California Sur La Paz (, en, Peace) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur and an important regional commercial center. The city had a 2020 census population of 250,141 inhabitants, making it the most populous city in the state. Its ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is long with a land area of , and is the ninth-largest island in

. The island is adjacent to the towns of El Sargent and La Ventana and is part of Municipality of La Paz. The island peak comes to and the ridge line runs north–south with many small streams draining east to

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

and west to Cupalo Canal. There are many steep bluffs on the eastern sides and many sandy beaches and points on the west side. There is abundant marine life surrounding this island which are due to underwater topography and ocean currents and are the traditional fishing grounds of the local ejidos and is dotted with temporary fish camps. Virtually all local marine life must migrate past the island and water visibility goes up to 30 meters making it a prime location for big

game fishing Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commerciall ...

. There are abundant yellowtail, golden grouper,

marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...

sailfish The sailfish is one or two species of marine fish in the genus ''Istiophorus'', which belong to the family Istiophoridae ( marlins). They are predominantly blue to gray in colour and have a characteristically large dorsal fin known as the ...

, swordfish or broadbill, other game and bait fish in Cerralvo Canal waters. Views from island at

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

and

sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

are very lively and filled with color.

Recent official name change

On November 17, 2009,

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...

changed the

name from historical name "Isla Cerralvo" to "Isla Jacques Cousteau" in honor of French oceanographer

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Th ...

(1910–1997) who had led many expeditions in this area. This name change has generated annoyance and a growing resistance amongst citizens of nearby towns of El Sargento and La Ventana, in

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

state, who were not consulted; they insist on keeping the name "Isla Cerralvo". This resistance is also supported by many people in other Mexican regions. Mexican senators Luis Alberto Coppola Joffroy, Sebastian Calderón Centeno and Humberto Andrade Quezada, from Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) initiated a resolution to request different Mexican authorities to inform the decree where change of name was adopted. Also senator Francisco Javier Obregón Espinoza has introduced a resolution in the

Mexican Congress The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...

requesting the name change be reversed. Leading Mexican intellectuals such as

Miguel León-Portilla Miguel León-Portilla (22 February 1926 – 1 October 2019) was a Mexican anthropologist and historian, specializing in Aztec culture and literature of the pre-Columbian and colonial eras. Many of his works were translated to English and he was ...

(a former

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

director) have also voiced opposition to the name change."¿Borrar la historia? El caso de la isla Cerralvo"

La Jornada ''La Jornada'' (''The Working Day'') is one of Mexico City's leading daily newspapers. It was established in 1984 by Carlos Payán Velver. The current editor ''(directora general)'' is Carmen Lira Saade. ''La Jornada'' has presence in eight sta ...

, November 24, 2009.

References

Land area of islands in Mexico

INEGI The National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI by its name in es, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) is an autonomous agency of the Mexican Government dedicated to coordinate the National System of Stat ...

{{Authority control Private islands of North America Nature reserves in Mexico Islands of Baja California Sur Islands of the Gulf of California Uninhabited islands of Mexico Protected areas of Baja California Sur